Going Shopping
Last summer I saw a little children’s shopping cart that was just as cute as can be. It was all metal and really sturdy. Oh, and it was $50. I passed on it, but decided I should keep my eyes out for one of my own. And a few weeks later I saw this one at the thrift store. It was missing one caster on the front, but for $3 I thought I’d take my chances at finding a new one.
I only found one hardware store that had the right size of casters to replace the missing one, and it wasn’t Home Depot or Lowe’s. Thank you Ace Hardware and your store brand casters! One afternoon last week I took in my shopping cart and the very nice Don, a grandpa himself, spent about 20 minutes wrestling with the bolts to get the old caster off and to securely fasten two new one’s on the front. And I guarantee that wouldn’t have happened at the Big Orange or Blue. It only cost me about 35 cents in hardware, plus the new casters, and thanks to Don none of my own elbow grease was required. And for less than $10 Creamie has a nice and sturdy, all metal shopping cart to fill to her hearts content. Don, thank you so much. We are thrilled!
Creamie has been loading up her cart about four times a day with an assortment of stuff and pushing it around the house. The only thing that always stays the same is her baby. That doll does everything with her. Yesterday she and her baby went shopping for the following:
- All the receipts from my purse
- Her favorite books
- Bits of fabric from the scrapbox
- Her daddy’s soccer ball
- Cup of animal crackers
- Purple sippy cup
- One white plastic spoon
- Her purse (gray and blue flowers)
- Flashlight (it had to be turned on before it went in the cart)
- A burpcloth, which she uses as a blanket for her baby.
Also every day she asks for a wet wipe so she can wipe down the handle of her cart… just like her germophobe mother. Man, I love this girl.
These are the scraps from my current project (which ended up on the bottom of her shopping cart yesterday). I’m going to sew like lightening and try and get these all finished up for Sew+Tell tomorrow. These scraps are from what will be new living room pillows. And I am way beyond desperate. I’ll take some before pictures of the current mess that is passing itself off as the “pillows” on my couch. It’s a disaster. Wish me luck!
A Little Something at the Window
For all the wonders of the online bookmarking world (I am a huge fan of delicious) I am still much more satisfied with a quick sketch of an idea on a scrap of paper next to my computer. And so as a result I’ve got stacks of scraps of paper next to my computer. I have been trying to clean some of them up, only I am very easily distracted and my pile is still the same size as it was 3 months ago. I made this from a sketch on the back of a receipt.
It’s just a few bits of scrapbooking paper, a little pile of clothespins and some string. But I absolutely love the way that it turned out. It brightens up my window, it’s easy to change and it was free. And it only took me a few minutes to put together.
I used six inch squares of paper to start with. On the back of one side I marked the center (3″) and then cut from the opposite corners to my mark to make triangles. Then I cut them out with my paper cutter and clipped them up in the window. Easy Peasy. I’ve got big plans for my scraps from this. Think little baby triangles for little baby garlands, and if I get some mini clothespins… Aaaak, they are going to be so cute!
PS- FYI: I’ve got a few new features that I added to each post (old and new). Right above the comments section there are now buttons to share a post, if you are so inclined. There are buttons to share on facebook and twitter, as well as buttons to email a post to a friend or to print. The “share” button will bring up a list of three other sharing sites. They will all open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place. Thanks to the code nerds at wordpress, I didn’t have to figure any of this out myself. Awesome.
Changing Gears
The combination of a hot, almost fall day and filthy feet*
when combined with a broken belt means that it’s time to sew something instead.
*I was wearing shoes while I was using power tools. Don’t freak out. This was the dust that accumulated on my feet after the belt broke, I took off my shoes to run inside and grab a broom, came back outside, decided to skip the shoes and started brushing off our project. See, no freaking out necessary. Also, my bruised but not broken toe is mostly returned to normal. Bruising has all but gone, the pain… well it still hurts.
Baby Typewriter
A few weeks ago I had a dream I was in thrifting heaven. Creamie and I were the only people at a giant thrift store, and it was all well organized, and well lit and the shelves were full of treasures. My dad appeared out of nowhere and handed me a small toy typewriter that was well out of my sight on a top shelf. He is six and a half feet tall, so he can always see things that are hiding up on those top shelves. And Creamie squealed “pipe-miter (typewriter) ding ding!” We put it in the cart and she played with that toy as happy as can be. And since then I’ve been on a mission.
[ Turquoise Typewriter from KingDogVintage ]
[ This was reserved for someone else, and they had the nerve to go ahead and buy it. Lame. ]
[ This cutie blue one from nerdnest ]
I am really hoping for one that is a pretty color, in good working order, and made of hard plastic. But not plastered with Barbie/Dora/Spongebob. (Though Scott would be thrilled with a Spongebob typewriter.) Due to those restrictions, it is probably going to be a typewriter around 40 years old. And then I am hoping to find one with a hard plastic case, not a carboard box. And I’d like one similar to typewriters 1 or 2 that doesn’t have an open area under the keys. I feel like that would just end up as a dumping ground for Cheerios. So now after I go to all of that work to find the perfect toy, am I going to be able to let my child play with it? Well, I figure I’ve still got time to come to terms with that last part.
Happy Day
I’ll be spending the day with these two. I can’t wait.
Happy Labor Day!
Pretty in Pink
Dear Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, or the Great Pumpkin…
If you’d like to talk amongst yourselves, and whichever of you are next in line to stop by my house bearing gifts, will you bring me this? I’ve been a very good girl this year. In case you were wondering.
[ Pink Rocker by Margaret Owen, in her shop ]
Wishing you all a happy Sunday (that goes for magical gift bearing creatures and real live people.)
e.
Black Jelly Beans
I put this little bowl of black jelly beans on my desk yesterday. They are my very favorite treat.
It is much emptier now. And I am much happier.
New Curtains!
I finally finished some of my projects that have been hanging out at my house for ages. Seriously. Ages. Last night I finally hung up the curtains in Creamie’s nursery. They have been sitting halfway finished for 6 months. I borrowed my mom’s serger to do the edges and I can’t believe how quick they went. I should have finished them… well six months ago.
I finished the valance a long time ago. It is the same striped pattern as her bumper. Man, I love this fabric! (It’s Farmer’s Market by Sandi Henderson.)
The bottom of the curtains is the same as her bedskirt, which is in pieces on my dining room table, and has been for months and months.
When I made her bedding originally I measured wrong, and when we dropped Creamie’s mattress to the lowest setting the bedskirt was too long. So I got all excited about making it fit and got it all unpicked and pressed and…. and it’s still sitting here, unpicked, and in bad need of a good pressing.
I am hoping that by the end of next week I’ll have her bedskirt finished and a few big throw pillows for her to lounge about with. That girl loves pillows more than anyone I know. Well, except for her mother.
Also this week I worked with a bunch of ladies from my church making quilts to donate to those in need. This one was mine, it’s 90 inches square. All of the fabrics were donated, one woman sewed them all together, and then all the ladies got together a few nights ago to tie them on quilt frames. Only, I hate those little tassle things. So I brought this one home and tied it with knots instead of tassle’s and I got it all finished last night. And it might not be beautiful, but it is warm. I thought I was going to overheat holding this quilt in my lap for hours and hours. I’m linking up to Sew+Tell over at Amy’s. Go see what everyone is doing.
PS- Yesterday afternoon I jammed my toe while skidding around the corner in my socks to answer the phone. And it hurts. I was sure it was broken yesterday, but today it’s much less sore… and much more purple/ble/green/technicolored. Ewwww gross. The bruise is spreading and it’s almost 3 inches across. It hurts. But it’s my left foot so I can still sew relatively easy. It’s the chasing after Creamie that is hard. Happy Weekend!
A Busy Bee
I’ve been trying to knock out a few projects that have been sitting unfinished for a long time. And the power being off for hours this morning didn’t really help me. So instead of sewing Creamie and I took a nice 6 mile walk. I suppose it wasn’t a total loss.
[ source ]
I am hoping that I can finish the last two tonight so I have something to post for Sew+Tell tomorrow. And then we have a very big project to finish over the weekend. Crossing my fingers that the power doesn’t go out again. These are not projects I want to do by hand!
A Little Bit of Awesome
Because we all need a little bit of mid-week awesome. Right?
[ buy me here ]
[ September. Autumn. Cold Weather and Snow on the way. Awesome! ] [ image ]
[ Pantone storage tin in red, yellow, green, turquoise, purple, pink or (boring) gray. ]
[ The new Metro Market fabric by Ann Kelle ]
And there’s one more thing, more awesome than numbered paper clips and pantone boxes and polka dotted pears. Last week I posted about 17 year old blogger Rachel. She desperately needed a few words of encouragement, and to those who went to visit her blog, thank you. I have been checking up on her each day since she was Love Bombed and you would not believe the difference in her life in just one short week. It gives me goosebumps to see how a few sentences from a relatively few people could be such an amazing force for good in her life.
” What I wanted to say, was that your comments couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m ashamed to admit it but I planned on coming home and hurting myself, and well, I wasn’t too worried about the outcome. When I signed onto my blog to find over 400 comments, I started to read them and was instantly overwhelmed by the love I felt from people I’d never met. It was the best feeling in the world, and as I sit here, a few hours later, it still brings tears to my eyes to think about. ”
In less than one week she went from feeling that no one would notice if she never showed up for life again to this, which she posted yesterday:
” …Maybe I’m me. And Maybe, for once, being JUST ME is OK. “
I don’t even know her, but I think my heart has grown three sizes. There is good in the world, and she has found it. Those that left her words of encouragement and love showed her where it was. Watching her find it, has reminded me that it is there. Who knew, it’s been here on the internet all this time. Awesome, right?
pinksuedeshoe 